This Gorgeous Instahunk’s Comeback Story Will Break Your Heart and Give You Hope

Instagram hunk Carson Tueller is going viral right now. Not just because of his good looks, but because of his powerful comeback story that is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.

Tueller was a college student at Weber State University in Utah. Tragedy struck when while home for the holidays in 2013, he and his sister visited a trampoline park.

“It was my first jump in,” he explained on Instagram. He continued:

I watched my little brother and sister tumble into the foam pit, and it was my turn. The foam was somewhat deteriorated and I could tell the pit needed to be fluffed. But assuming the park itself maintained its facilities, I tumbled from the trampoline into the pit, pulling the hardest front tuck I could mange, attempting my usual triple.

I flew through the air, through the foam, and landed on the back on my head at the bottom of the trampoline, and then hit whatever was below that. I heard a crack. My neck stung. My body settled with the bouncing trampoline and I tried to get up. Nothing. Confused, I tried again. I couldn’t move anything. . As I lay buried under blocks of foam, my dad came into the pit with me. “Dad, I think I’m paralyzed.” Paramedics were called, and as we waited for life-flight to arrive, I tried to comfort my father as he said over and over, “My boy, my boy…” I was flown to the hospital where I would undergo an immediate spinal fusion and begin the long road to recovery.

Tueller is still on that long road to recovery, but he seems to be doing better than ever. On Instagram, he shares adorable selfies of himself that would make any gay man gush, but he pairs his photos with honest captions about his daily struggle and the challenges he has to overcome.

Recently he wrote, “Woke up EXHAUSTED. One thing that I still struggle to accept about my spinal cord injury is that I tire more quickly than before. Because I have to live the same life I did before with such a small set of muscles, I reach the point of exhaustion more quickly.”

He continued, “My spinal cord injury has required that I be more strategic with my energy resources. It has required that I get more sleep and that I communicate what I need more frequently. This isn’t always easy for me, but it’s the only way I can accomplish what I want to in life.”

And last week, on the four year anniversary of his accident, Carson Tueller shared one of this most touching captions to date. He wrote:

My life would never be the same. It’s been an arduous battle for the last four years, and I have been determined to recreate a life that I love for myself. I have, through tears and grimaces, refused to give up, not because it’s the brave thing to do, but because I just can’t let what happened that day win.

I’m not done crying. I’m not done grieving. I’ll never, ever stop missing the life I had. But I’m still Carson, and I’m a stronger, smarter, more tender, loving Carson than I was four years ago. All along this journey, I’ve had love from others that has kept me alive and it’s that love I’ll keep leaning on to make it through whatever else is coming my way.